One of the most important ways to evaluate a school's success is by studying their standards set and their assessments based on those standards. By "standards", we mean goals set, usually by the state, that a school must meet or exceed within a particular time frame. When it comes to making school reforms, standards are set in place, both by the state and each individual school, in order to achieve the reforms. This is related to assessments because one of the biggest reforms is related to improving scores on testing. The manner in which the RI Strategic Plan plans on addressing this issue is to align Rhode Island standards with the National Common Core Standards in reading, writing, and mathematics. It also plans to design comprehensive state and local assessment systems that ensure that the state is educating students so that they meet international benchmarks.
The RI Strategic Plan addresses three main objectives that it hopes to accomplish: Adopt World-Class Standards, Implement High-Quality State Assessments, and Monitor Local Assessments. Branched off of these objectives are broken down goals that the RI Strategic Plan hopes to achieve, and goals that Rhode Island schools are beginning to implement. Schools have begun to implement the goal that by 2012, all LEA's, or local educational agencies, will have implemented a guaranteed and viable curriculum in reading, writing, mathematics, and science that can be easily accessed by the community. Also, By 2015, all LEA's will have at least two pathways for students to reach proficiency against internationally bench-marked standards. When it comes to high-quality assessments, the RI Strategic Plan sets the goal that by 2012, Rhode Island will have a state assessment system that is aligned to the National Common Core Standards and by 2015, all LEA high schools will ensure that students are able to reach proficiency against internationally bench-marked standards through multiple pathways. In order to enforce the internationally benchmarked standards, by 2012, all LEA's will have a comprehensive PK-12 assessment system in reading, writing, mathematics, and science that includes both formative and interim assessments aligned to curriculum and internationally bench-marked standards, and by 2015, all LEAs will have student grading and progress reporting systems aligned to internationally benchmarked standards in reading, writing, mathematics, and science.
II. Research Summary
Our group will be investigating the role that standards and assessments play in improving student achievement. We began this process by first identifying the Common Core standards that are outlined by the RI Strategic Plan. We then researched how successful these assessments are in improving student achievement. After further research, we looked at the main issues that face standards and assessments, including test bias and the negative affects on the curriculum and quality of instruction in the classroom.
Rachel: What are the Common Core Standards?
Through out schools in the United States, there is no such thing as a national curriculum. Therefore, many people have expressed concern that children in our country could be receiving very different educations depending on where they live. This concern has led to the development of something called "Common Core Standards" which some believe will guarantee that all children receive a fair and well-rounded education, regardless of where they live. The developers of these standards claim that they are research-based, give students the skills they need to compete globally, and will prepare all students to succeed in college and the workforce. Right now, well over half of the United States has adopted these voluntary standards, and the State of Rhode Island adopted them in July of 2010.
The Common Core Standards are a set of specific guidelines for teachers to use while instructing their students English language arts and math. The guidelines are grade-specific so children and parents can have a full and clear understanding of what is expected of them each year of their K - 12 education. In the English language arts portion, there are guidelines and specific questions that should be implemented in the classroom so that students can develop skills in reading, writing, speaking, listening, language, and technology. In the math portion, there are also a set of guidelines and concepts that children should learn and be able to do on their own. Though most states have adopted these standards, there are still some opponents of the movement. Some argue that adopting these standards underemphasizes the importance of developing content knowledge, overemphasizes the use of skills, is an attempt to nationalize educational decisions, and they are not challenging enough.
Chloe: How Successful are Asssments in Improving Student Achievement?
The standards implied by a school system and the assessments that are formed to enforce these standards are supposed to all be for the students' benefit. The whole point of the testing is so the students receive a better education and are more prepared to move forward after high school. But the question is: Are these tests doing what they are designed to do and actually benefiting the students? How successful are assessments in improving student achievement?
After doing a good amount of research, I found that currently, the assessments are not successful in improving student achievement. That is solely because the information received from these tests is not being taken advantage of. Schools gets the scores of their students, and don't seem to do anything with them. What should be happening is that curriculum and teaching strategy changes are made in order to 1). Better aid the student in preparing the exam and 2). Better help the teacher address the needs of their students. Although the tests are not currently doing what they should be, they seem to be on the right track. People are currently heavily analyzing the information they receive and developing new and innovative ways to help the students achieve higher proficiency on standardized tests.
Claire: Are Standardized Tests Biased?
Standardized tests are culturally biased. These tests ask questions that require skills and knowledge that, often times, only children with privileged backgrounds have. These tests are not biased against one specific group. They are biased towards women, children of different races, children from different socio-economic backgrounds, and those who live in rural areas. In fact, there is only one part of these tests that is not biased and that is the scoring This is because it is done by a machine. Every other part of the tests is influenced by the test makers because they create the questions and decide, which answers are going to be considered correct. These test makers are usually middle-class white men. Wealthier students also have access to special classes that help them to score better on standardized tests, which is a big advantage.
This is all very ironic because the point of these tests is to "close the gap" between wealthier and poorer schools. This can't happen if it is nearly impossible for the less privileged children who come from the poorer schools to score well on standarized tests. The way these tests are designed needs to change and they need to give all students an equal opportunity to do well on these tests and in life.
Ruqayya: How do Assessments Affect the Curriculum and Quality of Instruction?
Concern about student achievement led to the development of testing measures and assessments that hold students accountable for meeting specific standards. These standards and assessments have led to the narrowing of the curriculum and have caused teachers to "teach to the test.” The increasing focus on these assessments has put pressure on both teachers and students to raise test scores. The public is only satisfied if these scores improve, even if it does not mean that the school is successful in teaching its students what they need to know in order to move forward in their education. While other assessment measures, such as portfolios, might be better at assessing what students are actually learning, they are not as popular because these measures are not uniform. While the multiple choice exams might not be a very comprehensive assessment of student knowledge, they are a base standard for which all students can be equally measured. Students, teachers, and schools across the nation can be compared based on these scores. Because the tests focus on the basics, teachers have begun to focus on the basics in the classroom. They spend more class time teaching math and reading and neglect other subjects such social studies and the arts because students are not tested on these subjects. The emphasis is narrowly focused on multiple-choice exams and memorization, and critical thinking and problem solving are cast aside in the classroom. Not all types of learning can be quantified, but this does not mean that they are any less important. The purpose of school should not be improving test scores, but gaining a deeper understanding and a deeper knowledge of the subjects that students will need as they move forward in their education.
III. Group Product Overview
Rachel will begin the presentation by discussing the Common Core Standards, using a the common core standards website to reinforce and demonstrate her arguments. Chloe will then discuss how successful assessments are in improving student achievement. Claire will then talk about the potential bias in standardized tests and the implications this bias has for students. Ruqayya will then explain how these assessments lead to the narrowing of the curriculum and and cause teachers to "teach to the test". We will be using power point presentations as a visual aid. We will close our presentation with a quiz demonstrating how potentially bias these tests can be.
A big portion of the Rhode Island Strategic Plan is focused on standards and assessments. We recognize that assessments attempt to improve the quality of schools, but we feel that putting too much pressure on students and teachers to perform well is not the best way to reform schools. The Common Core Standards have recently been adopted by most of the Northeast region of the United States and seem to be a good guideline for schools to follow. We feel that they are beneficial because they are voluntary, there is no high-stakes assessment attached to it, and are very specific to each grade level. Because they are a guideline, schools do not have to fear that if they are not carried out exactly as stated there will be repercussions. Furthermore, we believe that assessments are not currently successful in improving student achievement, but have to potential to do so. The problem with the tests is that they obtain data from the results, but school districts are not using this information to their advantage. Schools should use these tests to see where students are struggling and how they can improve the curriculum or teacher effectiveness, or learn what they are doing correctly. When it comes to the standardized tests being bias or leaning towards a certain gender, class,or race, we believe that the tests are indeed bias. The issue with the tests is that they sometimes ask questions on knowledge that not all students have. All schools cover the basics, but when it comes to specific subjects within the testing, not all students know it, so they obviously do not score as well on the test as students have been exposed and taught that material. Along with that, the wealthier students and the wealthier are able to provide better studying approaches and test preparation resources for their subjects, so they in turn able to perform better on the tests. Also, we found that schools seem be more focused on subjects that are covered on assessments, and neglect to spend as much time on subjects that are not covered, such as science or the arts. We believe that putting too much emphasis on the test is not the most effective way to teach. Instead, we think that assessments should be adjusted to the current curriculum so that they are indeed reflective of what students are actually learning. It will be interesting to see how much of a role standards and assessments will play once the Rhode Island Strategic Plan is in effect, and how much reform will actually occur in this area.
EDC 102H Issue: Standards and Assessments
I. Description of Problem or Issue
One of the most important ways to evaluate a school's success is by studying their standards set and their assessments based on those standards. By "standards", we mean goals set, usually by the state, that a school must meet or exceed within a particular time frame. When it comes to making school reforms, standards are set in place, both by the state and each individual school, in order to achieve the reforms. This is related to assessments because one of the biggest reforms is related to improving scores on testing. The manner in which the RI Strategic Plan plans on addressing this issue is to align Rhode Island standards with the National Common Core Standards in reading, writing, and mathematics. It also plans to design comprehensive state and local assessment systems that ensure that the state is educating students so that they meet international benchmarks.
The RI Strategic Plan addresses three main objectives that it hopes to accomplish: Adopt World-Class Standards, Implement High-Quality State Assessments, and Monitor Local Assessments. Branched off of these objectives are broken down goals that the RI Strategic Plan hopes to achieve, and goals that Rhode Island schools are beginning to implement. Schools have begun to implement the goal that by 2012, all LEA's, or local educational agencies, will have implemented a guaranteed and viable curriculum in reading, writing, mathematics, and science that can be easily accessed by the community. Also, By 2015, all LEA's will have at least two pathways for students to reach proficiency against internationally bench-marked standards. When it comes to high-quality assessments, the RI Strategic Plan sets the goal that by 2012, Rhode Island will have a state assessment system that is aligned to the National Common Core Standards and by 2015, all LEA high schools will ensure that students are able to reach proficiency against internationally bench-marked standards through multiple pathways. In order to enforce the internationally benchmarked standards, by 2012, all LEA's will have a comprehensive PK-12 assessment system in reading, writing, mathematics, and science that includes both formative and interim assessments aligned to curriculum and internationally bench-marked standards, and by 2015, all LEAs will have student grading and progress reporting systems aligned to internationally benchmarked standards in reading, writing, mathematics, and science.
II. Research Summary
Our group will be investigating the role that standards and assessments play in improving student achievement. We began this process by first identifying the Common Core standards that are outlined by the RI Strategic Plan. We then researched how successful these assessments are in improving student achievement. After further research, we looked at the main issues that face standards and assessments, including test bias and the negative affects on the curriculum and quality of instruction in the classroom.
Rachel: What are the Common Core Standards?
Through out schools in the United States, there is no such thing as a national curriculum. Therefore, many people have expressed concern that children in our country could be receiving very different educations depending on where they live. This concern has led to the development of something called "Common Core Standards" which some believe will guarantee that all children receive a fair and well-rounded education, regardless of where they live. The developers of these standards claim that they are research-based, give students the skills they need to compete globally, and will prepare all students to succeed in college and the workforce. Right now, well over half of the United States has adopted these voluntary standards, and the State of Rhode Island adopted them in July of 2010.
The Common Core Standards are a set of specific guidelines for teachers to use while instructing their students English language arts and math. The guidelines are grade-specific so children and parents can have a full and clear understanding of what is expected of them each year of their K - 12 education. In the English language arts portion, there are guidelines and specific questions that should be implemented in the classroom so that students can develop skills in reading, writing, speaking, listening, language, and technology. In the math portion, there are also a set of guidelines and concepts that children should learn and be able to do on their own. Though most states have adopted these standards, there are still some opponents of the movement. Some argue that adopting these standards underemphasizes the importance of developing content knowledge, overemphasizes the use of skills, is an attempt to nationalize educational decisions, and they are not challenging enough.
Chloe: How Successful are Asssments in Improving Student Achievement?
The standards implied by a school system and the assessments that are formed to enforce these standards are supposed to all be for the students' benefit. The whole point of the testing is so the students receive a better education and are more prepared to move forward after high school. But the question is: Are these tests doing what they are designed to do and actually benefiting the students? How successful are assessments in improving student achievement?
After doing a good amount of research, I found that currently, the assessments are not successful in improving student achievement. That is solely because the information received from these tests is not being taken advantage of. Schools gets the scores of their students, and don't seem to do anything with them. What should be happening is that curriculum and teaching strategy changes are made in order to 1). Better aid the student in preparing the exam and 2). Better help the teacher address the needs of their students. Although the tests are not currently doing what they should be, they seem to be on the right track. People are currently heavily analyzing the information they receive and developing new and innovative ways to help the students achieve higher proficiency on standardized tests.
Claire: Are Standardized Tests Biased?
Standardized tests are culturally biased. These tests ask questions that require skills and knowledge that, often times, only children with privileged backgrounds have. These tests are not biased against one specific group. They are biased towards women, children of different races, children from different socio-economic backgrounds, and those who live in rural areas. In fact, there is only one part of these tests that is not biased and that is the scoring This is because it is done by a machine. Every other part of the tests is influenced by the test makers because they create the questions and decide, which answers are going to be considered correct. These test makers are usually middle-class white men. Wealthier students also have access to special classes that help them to score better on standardized tests, which is a big advantage.
This is all very ironic because the point of these tests is to "close the gap" between wealthier and poorer schools. This can't happen if it is nearly impossible for the less privileged children who come from the poorer schools to score well on standarized tests. The way these tests are designed needs to change and they need to give all students an equal opportunity to do well on these tests and in life.
Ruqayya: How do Assessments Affect the Curriculum and Quality of Instruction?
Concern about student achievement led to the development of testing measures and assessments that hold students accountable for meeting specific standards. These standards and assessments have led to the narrowing of the curriculum and have caused teachers to "teach to the test.” The increasing focus on these assessments has put pressure on both teachers and students to raise test scores. The public is only satisfied if these scores improve, even if it does not mean that the school is successful in teaching its students what they need to know in order to move forward in their education. While other assessment measures, such as portfolios, might be better at assessing what students are actually learning, they are not as popular because these measures are not uniform. While the multiple choice exams might not be a very comprehensive assessment of student knowledge, they are a base standard for which all students can be equally measured. Students, teachers, and schools across the nation can be compared based on these scores. Because the tests focus on the basics, teachers have begun to focus on the basics in the classroom. They spend more class time teaching math and reading and neglect other subjects such social studies and the arts because students are not tested on these subjects. The emphasis is narrowly focused on multiple-choice exams and memorization, and critical thinking and problem solving are cast aside in the classroom. Not all types of learning can be quantified, but this does not mean that they are any less important. The purpose of school should not be improving test scores, but gaining a deeper understanding and a deeper knowledge of the subjects that students will need as they move forward in their education.
III. Group Product Overview
Rachel will begin the presentation by discussing the Common Core Standards, using a the common core standards website to reinforce and demonstrate her arguments. Chloe will then discuss how successful assessments are in improving student achievement. Claire will then talk about the potential bias in standardized tests and the implications this bias has for students. Ruqayya will then explain how these assessments lead to the narrowing of the curriculum and and cause teachers to "teach to the test". We will be using power point presentations as a visual aid. We will close our presentation with a quiz demonstrating how potentially bias these tests can be.
IV. Visual Representation
V. Research Questions and Reference Summaries
VI. Group Reaction and Opinion about Issue
A big portion of the Rhode Island Strategic Plan is focused on standards and assessments. We recognize that assessments attempt to improve the quality of schools, but we feel that putting too much pressure on students and teachers to perform well is not the best way to reform schools. The Common Core Standards have recently been adopted by most of the Northeast region of the United States and seem to be a good guideline for schools to follow. We feel that they are beneficial because they are voluntary, there is no high-stakes assessment attached to it, and are very specific to each grade level. Because they are a guideline, schools do not have to fear that if they are not carried out exactly as stated there will be repercussions. Furthermore, we believe that assessments are not currently successful in improving student achievement, but have to potential to do so. The problem with the tests is that they obtain data from the results, but school districts are not using this information to their advantage. Schools should use these tests to see where students are struggling and how they can improve the curriculum or teacher effectiveness, or learn what they are doing correctly. When it comes to the standardized tests being bias or leaning towards a certain gender, class,or race, we believe that the tests are indeed bias. The issue with the tests is that they sometimes ask questions on knowledge that not all students have. All schools cover the basics, but when it comes to specific subjects within the testing, not all students know it, so they obviously do not score as well on the test as students have been exposed and taught that material. Along with that, the wealthier students and the wealthier are able to provide better studying approaches and test preparation resources for their subjects, so they in turn able to perform better on the tests. Also, we found that schools seem be more focused on subjects that are covered on assessments, and neglect to spend as much time on subjects that are not covered, such as science or the arts. We believe that putting too much emphasis on the test is not the most effective way to teach. Instead, we think that assessments should be adjusted to the current curriculum so that they are indeed reflective of what students are actually learning. It will be interesting to see how much of a role standards and assessments will play once the Rhode Island Strategic Plan is in effect, and how much reform will actually occur in this area.